This Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Apple Crisp is the perfect sweet and salty treat. The Honeycrisp apples are packed with sweet-tart flavor, balancing the toasty peanut butter crumble to create a decadent dessert that no one will guess contains healthier ingredients.
This healthy apple crisp is a great balance of rich flavor and wholesome ingredients, making it the perfect dessert to enjoy anytime you can get your hands on some tasty, fresh apples. Plus, peanut butter and apples are a winning combo.
This apple crisp is gluten-free but can easily be made with regular flour and oats if you don't have any intolerances.
Ingredient Notes & Possible Substitutions
Honeycrisp Apples
Honeycrisp is one of my favorite apple varieties to use for baking because they are so flavorful, but any firm apple with a sweet-tart flavor will work in this recipe. If using a different type of apple be sure to use the weight (2 lbs) rather than the size of the apple when selecting ingredients (a large Honeycrisp apple is a lot bigger than a large Granny Smith).
Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats
Quick oats can be used, but rolled oats will work best in this recipe and are recommended. Steel-cut oats should not be substituted due to their tougher texture. If following a gluten-free diet, be sure to select certified gluten-free rolled oats because oats can be a source of gluten cross-contamination.
Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour
In this recipe, you want to use a gluten-free all-purpose flour that measures 1:1 with regular flour. I used King Arthur’s 1:1 All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour. If you do not follow a gluten-free diet, regular all-purpose baking flour can be used instead.
Coconut Sugar
Coconut palm sugar is a great, less processed alternative to refined sugar. This type of unrefined sugar has a toasty, almost caramel-y flavor that compliments the peanut butter really well in this recipe. If needed, you can substitute regular brown sugar for coconut sugar measure for measure; however, weights will vary.
Peanut Butter
Using a natural peanut butter that is unsweetened will produce the best results. Select a peanut butter that only contains peanuts and salt on the ingredient panel. These peanut butters will have a nuttier flavor and a drippy consistency, making them better choices for this recipe. Avoid things with added oils because these may be too thick. I used Kirkland Brand Organic Unsweetened Peanut Butter.
Unsalted Butter
There is a lot of butter in this recipe so choosing a good quality butter is important. Use real butter and not margarine. Unsalted butter is preferred but if using salted butter consider reducing the salt that is added to the crumble to taste.
Sea Salt
Sea salt is less salty than regular table salt. If using regular table salt reduce the salt to ¾ tsp or to taste.
How to Make Peanut Butter Apple Crisp
This peanut butter apple crisp is simple to make and so delicious. Here is how to get started:
Start by preheating the oven to 350 F. Prepare your equipment. You will need a knife, cutting board, veggie peeler, large mixing bowl, smaller bowl, rubber spatula and an 8x8 baking dish or cake pan.
For the apple filling:
Peel, core, and slice the apples into about ¼ inch half-moon slices and set aside.
Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add apples and cinnamon and begin to sauté. Sauté the apples until they begin to soften, about 10 minutes, stirring throughout (make sure the apples have started to softened!).
Once the apples have softened and the butter starts to smell a little nutty, add in ¼ cup of coconut sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Stir the apples until the coconut sugar dissolves and becomes syrupy. Remove the skillet from the heat. Add ¼ cup of peanut butter to the apples and stir until it dissolves into the syrupy mixture that the coconut sugar and butter have made.
Transfer the apples into a 8x8 baking dish, scraping the sides of the skillet with a rubber spatula to get all of the syrupy sauce from the pan. Spread the apples evenly and set aside.
For the crumble:
Combine the old-fashioned rolled oats, gluten-free all-purpose flour, ⅔ cup of coconut sugar, salt, and ½ tsp of cinnamon in a large mixing bowl and stir together.
Melt the remaining ½ cup of unsalted butter in the microwave on high for 30 seconds or until it is fully melted. Pour the melted butter directly into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Add in the ⅔ cup of peanut butter and 1 tsp of vanilla extract. Stir with the rubber spatula until everything is well combined and a crumble topping begins to form.
Transfer the crumble to the dish with the apples. Break up larger chunks by crumbling them with your hands over the top of the dish.
To bake:
Place apple crisp in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the crumble topping bakes and turns a subtle golden brown.
Remove from the oven and serve warm!
What makes this apple crisp healthier?
While it is gluten-free and made from wholesome ingredients with no refined sugar, it is still a full-butter sweet treat! But, that is what you need sometimes, right?
This healthy apple crisp contains more than 10% of your daily needs of 14 vitamins and minerals and has 8 grams of fiber in each serving, but trust me, no one will be able to tell it contains better-for-you ingredients.
How can I serve this peanut butter apple crisp?
This peanut butter apple crisp can be served as is for a perfect dessert or even a sweeter breakfast for a special occasion. Serve it with a glass of milk, or for dessert, you can top it with a creamy vanilla bean ice cream, a gooey caramel sauce, or a drizzle of extra peanut butter.
Can I use a different type of apple?
Absolutely! I love using Honeycrisp apples because they are packed with sweet-tart flavor. You can use an array of apples when making crisps, but you want to make sure they are considered firm and are at least slightly tart.
Other good options are Granny Smith, Braeburn, Crispin, Pink Lady, Winesap, and Jonagold. Avoid mealier apples that do not have enough tartness, like Golden Delicious, Macintosh, Fuji, and Red Delicious.
How can I store this recipe?
This gluten-free peanut butter apple crisp can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container. Consume within 1 week for best quality. Leftovers can be enjoyed warm or cold! I have not tried freezing leftovers. If you try freezing, let me know how well it works in the comments below!
Recipe Tips
- Allow the apples enough time to cook at least halfway in the skillet because they will only have 20 minutes in the oven. They should start to lose their structure when you pick them up but might still have a slight crunch in the center if you bite into one. It should take about 10 minutes in the skillet for them to soften over medium heat. Don’t forget to stir throughout this process!
- Adding the peanut butter to the apple mixture last is important because the peanut butter does not need to cook as long and may start to smell burnt if it is added while the heat is on.
- Peanuts and salt go together like PB&J, so this recipe is on the saltier side. If you are sensitive to salt, salt this recipe to taste. The crumble does not contain eggs so it is safe to taste uncooked. Add ½ tsp of salt, taste, and adjust accordingly. Remember to use sea salt and unsalted butter to avoid over-salting.
Related Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Peanut Butter Apple Crisp
Equipment
- Large skillet
- Veggie peeler
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Rubber Spatula
- Large mixing bowl
- 8x8 Baking dish (or similar volume)
Ingredients
Apples
- ¼ cup Unsalted butter 4 tbsp
- 2 lbs Honeycrisp apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼ inch slices About 3 large or 4 medium apples
- ½ tsp Ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup Coconut sugar 40 g
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- ¼ cup Peanut butter, unsweetened 60 g - select a drippy peanut butter that contains only peanuts and salt
Crumble
- 1 ½ cup Gluten-free old-fashioned rolled oats 150 g
- 1 cup 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose baking flour 140 g
- ⅔ cup Coconut sugar 110 g
- 1 tsp Sea salt Or to taste
- ½ Ground cinnamon
- ½ cup Unsalted butter
- ⅔ cup Peanut Butter, unsweetened 160 g - select a drippy peanut butter that contains only peanuts and salt
Instructions
- Preheatthe oven to 350 F.
- Peel,core, and slice the apples into about ¼ inch half-moon slices and set aside.
- Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Once the butter hasmelted, add apples and cinnamon and begin to sauté. Sauté the apples until theybegin to soften, about 10 minutes, stirring throughout. Once the apples havesoftened and the butter starts to smell a little nutty, add in ¼ cup of coconutsugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Stir the apples until the coconut sugardissolves and becomes syrupy. Remove the skillet from the heat. Add ¼ cup ofpeanut butter to the apples and stir until it dissolves into the syrupy mixturethat the coconut sugar and butter have made.
- Transfer the apples into a 8x8 baking dish, scraping the sides of the skillet with a rubber spatula to get all of the syrupy sauce from the pan. Spread the applesevenly and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the old-fashioned rolled oats, gluten-freeall-purpose flour, ⅔ cup of coconut sugar, salt, and ½ tsp of cinnamon. Stirall the dry ingredients together.
- Melt the remaining ½ cup of unsalted butter in the microwave on high for 30 secondsor until it is fully melted. Pour the melted butter directly into the bowl withthe dry ingredients. Add in the ⅔ cup of peanut butter and 1 tsp of vanillaextract. Stir with the rubber spatula until everything is well combined and acrumble topping begins to form.
- Transfer the crumble to the dish with the apples. Break up larger chunks by crumbling them with your hands over the top of the dish.
- Place apple crisp in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the crumble topping bakesand turns a subtle golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and serve hot. Top with ice cream, caramel sauce, or serve as is.
Notes
- Allow the apples enough time to cook at least halfway in the skillet because they will only have 20 minutes in the oven. They should start to lose their structure when you pick them up but might still have a slight crunch in the center if you bite into one. It should take about 10 minutes in the skillet for them to soften over medium heat. Don’t forget to stir throughout this process!
- Adding the peanut butter to the apple mixture last is important because the peanut butter does not need to cook as long and may start to smell burnt if it is added while the heat is on.
- Peanuts and salt go together like PB&J, so this recipe is on the saltier side. If you are sensitive to salt, salt this recipe to taste. The crumble does not contain eggs so it is safe to taste uncooked. Add ½ tsp of salt, taste, and adjust accordingly. Remember to use sea salt and unsalted butter to avoid over-salting.
- Store leftover peanut butter apple crisp in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat to serve or enjoy cold.
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